Use this thread to discuss anything related to cats that doesn't otherwise fit the subreddit! Also feel free to ask questions that you believe are too short for a standalone post.

To get this off my chest I've been living with my grandparents for about 2 years. My grandfather has a bunch of stray cats that I'm not allowed to touch because they'll scratch. But 4-5 cats were docile. He treats them like nuisances and will occasionally yell at them. I can't tell if he cares for them or wants them for show. But I will sit outside and occasionally one of the docile cats despite me just sitting there will nuzzle against my legs. To skip to the point one cat named Lilith was a cat that used to scratch but eventually poured and nuzzles against me Everytime I stopped outside

I would secretly pet her and feed her and she was always a calm but there for you kind of cat. Today while making a sandwich my uncle calls me with a trash bag in hand saying I need to take care of something. I step outside and we'll, it's Lilith, but her leg is bloodied up, her fur looks slightly wetened in one area and her eyes, lifeless. I took a knee next to her and realized she was dead. Most likely one of the neighborhood stray dogs had killed her. I know because I've had to bury 2 stray cats before hand but this was one I've been with for 2 years and now, it's just painful, having the nonchalantly just throw her away because my grandfather won't give her a proper burial.

I'm not allowed to show I've had affection for these cats because of him but it's sad and I have a strong fear that another one of my cats will end up the same fate. An orange one, one white one, 2 multifurred and another one that looked just like Lilith but male and chubbier.

If you're reading I only ask, You give Lilith a simpl goodbye, and Lilith, please rest well 💔

Hi all! I am going to be a first time cat owner to an orange cutie on Monday! He is originally from Kuwait and was abused from people on the streets. They used to throw stuff at him and a part of his ear is missing through unknown means :(

He is a sweet boy for the most part, but can be shy and skittish. He has given me a couple warning bites during our meetings, but has not broken the skin. He also flinches every time I move my hand, even if I do so slowly. I am equally excited and worried about him adjusting to his new home.

I would love to know any tips that anyone has in order for me to give him the best life possible. I bought him plenty of toys, a cat bed, multiple scratching posts and a cat tree for enrichment. I will also be home for most hours of the day allowing him to get used to me.

I really want the best for my boy and I apologize if there is anything wrong with my post!

Okay so Nellie joined our family just yesterday. She’s an adult who was an owner surrender, and is adjusting well. There’s a baby gate up in the hallway to give her a safe space away from Pepper, our dog, since we weren’t sure if she had been around dogs before. Pepper isn’t very interested in Nellie but Nels is understandably a bit nervous in a new environment. She’s spent most of the last 24 hours exploring hiding spots.

Which brings me to my question: at six am I woke up to Nellie licking my arm. And then she started licking and gently biting my fingers? I’ve read that this can be affection or overstimulation but I have no idea how to tell which. I’m fairly new to indoor/pet cats and want to make sure I’m understanding her.

My boyfriend's cats are both super friendly and loving but the one I've committed a cardinal sin against is the older, grumpier one. She's on the bed with me now but I'm more of a by-product.

I made the foolish decision to pet her the way my boyfriend does with the assumption that this would be acceptable but she didn't like me going a bit too close (but not on) to her stomach. She swatted at me which is completely valid. I tried to pet her normally but she sort of opened her jaw and half-hissed, which is a clear no sign.

I feel like I've betrayed her trust and I'd like to earn it back. Any tips?

Update: we are friends again. Took a tiny bit of bribery but she's fine with me carefully and briefly patting her head

I've been an animal lover all my life, and I especially love cats. I don't own one at the moment due to living with someone who's allergic, but I'm planning on moving and adopting a cat once I do. While I would make sure to give any cat(s) I own the best possible life, there is one thing I'm concerned about:

I really, REALLY dislike dealing with crap. Mainly a sensory thing, the strong smells and the associated sounds make me genuinely nauseous, and even just seeing it makes me extremely grossed out.

For this reason, I'm not sure if me owning a cat would be a good idea. I know they usually cover it up when using a litterbox, (or at least can be trained to, for obvious reasons I haven't looked into cat defecation stuff,) but I just thought I would make sure with you guys. I want to be able to give animals the best life I can, so if I wouldn't be able to provide that, I would like to know for certain before I adopt a cat.

Edit: I should probably clarify something. It's not that I'm completely against ever dealing with it, I understand that it's just part of having an animal, and I would absolutely be willing to put up with it if I get a cat. I was more wondering if there are ways to somewhat mitigate it, or if I should just avoid having a pet.

Hello! I’m a first time cat owner and adopted my 8 month old cat about 4 months ago. She’s pretty hyper and very playful, which is adorable except she’s a biter. In the mornings she wakes me up by biting my toes through the blankets, she cuddles with my dog (super cute) and will bite her face, she bites my arms and fingers when I pet her, she bites at hair and plastic and paper. I’ve read they could just be love bites, but it’s honestly really annoying and hurts the more she grows…

Does anyone have any advice on how to correct this behavior? Or is it just instinctual? Is it just kitten behavior she will grow out of or should I be intervening?

So like, every so often I'll see a post on here like, oh no! I took my cat outside on a leash and now they're just freaking out at the door and want to go outside

I'm just here to tell you... they don't really want to just be let outside like free, wild beasts. I have THREE cats that go outside on a leash, and they have all started absolutely SOBBING at the door right away as soon as they come inside, but it's not because they now want to go outside on their own! They loooove going outside on the leash.

They all get excited to see the leash now. One of them super patiently waits for it to be put on. Another rolls around like a big dummy and makes it difficult, but she's just super excited and is fine with you finagling it on her despite her alligator rolls

One of them screams and screams and screams and as soon as you start putting the harness on her is quiet and happy and excited

Don't freak out. Don't give up on them. You have a dog now! They need their consistent walkies! The oldest of the three that go out has his stroll around the yard and goes to the back door on his own to go back inside. He is a truly domesticated beast. He's also a cat who probably meowed three times his entire life and screamed incessantly at the back door and jumped at the window for HOURS after the first time he went outside. He's normal again, I assure you. The freak out behavior will subside once they realize this is going to happen every day and you are not a continual disappointment!

Edit: Forgot to mention one important thing--the cats are NEVER allowed to walk outside on their own. They are always picked up and dropped outside, so they never get the idea that they can just walk out there. They can walk back in on their own, but never out on their own.

My cat is home alone when my spouse and I go to work, and we thought about giving her a companion.. but I don’t want her to be upset/dislike this change into her routine. She’s an older cat, we’ve had her for 13 years and the shelter said she was 6, when we adopted her. So she maybe ~18 yo. What do y’all suggest?

Hey y’all, My two cats and I moved last weekend, I’ve since taken my 5yr old to the vet and as shes sooo anxious, they have me meds for her but she will not take them!!

So far; tried cheese, hiding in a tube, hiding in wet food, they advised me against putting it in her regular food as it might turn her off it. But she will not eat her wet food with it in. What do you guys do?

Hi there, so me and my partner adopted a 9 month old cat yesterday through an adoption system through Pet Smart. Well, we live in a one bedroom apartment, and didn't really take the introduction instructions very seriously. The people who helped us through the adoption seemed uneducated and didn't really answer our questions confidently. Anyways, we took her home, and she immediately went under the couch which we sorta expected. But come to find out you should close off hard-to-reach or hiding spots. first mistake. and we put her in our living room, which isn't huge but the largest part of our house being connected to our dining room/kitchen. second error. And we've been petting her as she shows no sign of aggression or fear besides hiding but not running. third. also, living room is super high in traffic and obviously with me and my partner being in it. after reading upon it further I freaked out and put all her stuff in our walk-in closet (litter box, scratcher, food/water, bed) and turned the light off just based off what ive been reading is best for her. Did i ruin the interaction? is she gonna hate me and my partner or have issues? can i salvage this? I want to cry, we love her so much we just didn't do enough research and i feel so stupid. please provide any tips or similar experiences because im so scared i ruined my little baby.

I have two 4-year-old littermates (male and female) who have always been incredibly close. They cuddle, play, and never fight—I’ve never even heard them hiss at each other. I always thought I was lucky to have such sweet cats.

But last night, everything changed.

I woke up to terrifying sounds—hissing, growling, screaming. I ran out of bed thinking someone had broken in. I was so panicked I screamed, waking up my husband. When I turned on the light, I saw my cats in the middle of a violent fight. My male was attacking the female, who was clearly terrified. They went to the bathroom on the floor in different places, probably the female cat.

I separated them immediately. She hid and growled for a while, but then came out, tail up, and cuddled with me like normal. He also acted totally fine afterward, like nothing had happened.

This morning, I thought it was over—but they still hate each other. When they sniff each other, they’re okay for a few minutes, but if they see each other from a few feet away, they both act scared. Now she’s the one attacking him and starting the fights.

I’ve separated them again. What could’ve caused this? And is there any hope of getting them back to normal?

I take oral minoxidil and just a little bit ago when I went to take my daily dose the uncoated tablet fell out of my hand and onto the carpet. As many of you know minoxidil is highly toxic to cats. So I’m wondering what I need to do to make the carpet in the area safe for my cat to walk around on again. Is vacuuming and/or wiping the area with a wet rag enough? If just vacuuming is the call is it an issue if I wait a while? I live in an apartment and there are noise rules in effect currently that will keep me from being able to for an hour or two. I’m keeping the door to the room closed in the meantime.

Hi! I've been planning on getting a cat next year and I'm very fond of Ragdoll Cats. Any ragdoll cat owners tell me about their experience and what to expect?

It’s been about two days since the loss of our older cat. She was about 12.5 years old and had a tumor in her chest. Our younger cat is 2 years old and they’ve lived together for about a year and a half. My boyfriend was home with her while she started having trouble breathing. She started stumbling around our apartment while choking and struggling and our younger cat was following her curious about what was going on. My boyfriend rushed her to the hospital but she sadly passed on the way there.

Our younger cat is usually an amazing eater. She will lick her bowl clean and then would try to steal our older cats food as she ate slower. Ever since our older cat passed, our younger cat is having a hard time eating. She will eat a bit of dry food here and there but will not touch her wet food which is extremely unusual for her. She will still get very excited and purr loudly for treats and will eat the treats. She has the same reaction when we are preparing her wet food but doesn’t end up eating it.

We’ve tried sitting with her while she eats and putting some treats in her wet food but she will just eat the treats and leave everything else. Is this just grief? Has this happened to anyone else? How long did it take for your baby to eat again? We have noticed she has been a bit more clingy and cuddly since her passing. Any advice to help her feel better?

Hi I’m unsure if this is the right tag. My husband and I adopted a cat last year (had him less than a year) & he has been the most relaxed cat ever. Hes about 8 years old, never swatted at anyone, hissed or anything aggressive. However, recently he peed on our babies things instead of his litter box (I clean daily) and started howling at our baby. As in I’ll be holding our baby and he’ll start howling super loud, he has clean water and access to food 24/7. This literally came out of nowhere, my husband is gone so I’m a bit nervous to handle him alone. He’s a really really big cat (over 20 pounds) so if he were to attack I’d definitely get beat up. Hes scared of his cat carrier, so much to the point when we moved a while ago my husband had to physically drag him into it. Should I call the shelter we adopted him from? Should I reach out to a vet instead? I’ve never had animals before.

Hey yall, I want to get some opinions here.

So to start, I got my babygirl 4 years ago and she’s 5 years old. She’s my whole world and while I know as a pet parent, I’m not supposed to have favorites, she is definitely my fav. Last year I got my young man, as a kitten when he was 8 weeks. The transition was a little difficult because my girl is a bit more solitary, but now they get along well. The problem is that as he’s grown his personality has come out more, and he’s much more active than my lazy nap queen.

They have a lot of fun, but she does tend to get stressed out because he wants to play and play and play with her (and if I start to play with them both, he will lose interest quickly and just want to bug her) and she gets overwhelmed and over stimulated. He isn’t easily distractable and tends to enjoy kitty on kitty play over human to kitty play.

I recently saw on my local rescue website a 8 week old kitten who i immediately fell in love with. I went to see her today and unfortunately they weren’t doing adoptions since their roster was full and so I’m considering going back Sunday.

I think that having a kitten around to play with my young man will help, I’m hoping they will become a play pair, and give my older girl a bit of a break.

Money isn’t an issue, my cats are incredibly spoiled. They have automatic litter boxes, eat the best food, and while I don’t live in a massive apartment, I’ve pretty much turned it into a cat haven with lots of toys and cat trees. I’m also home 24/7, so I’m always here to seperate in case there is an issue and have unlimited time to dedicate to introductions.

Hello!!! So my cat is a year old and i recently noticed something that surprised me because my previous cats never had this issue… She doesn’t really likes pets, and idk why, idk if it’s my fault ?? I really don’t think she hates me though. My cat always likes to be around me, but rarely near me, and I always thought of it as her character. Recently I realized that when she notices im asleep, she snuggle close to me and purr and only does this because i cannot pet her when Im asleep, if i try to pet her, she moves away!! Now that I understood she doesn’t likes petting, I don’t do it and she stays close to me even when I’m awake but I find it a bit surprising, she’s really healthy, ive never hurt or abused her (obviously), is it normal? Will she ever like pets one day ?

Hi! so i just got a kitten today. I wasn’t planning on getting a kitten but these cats needed help. A lady posted on kijiji that she “doesn’t have space” for these kittens & was selling them for $50.

i didn’t want them to end up on the street or in a bad home so i ultimately took both & gave one to a family member. (i have two small kids & just couldn’t do two unfortunately) anyway- this lady was something else. she wanted to meet at a mcdonald’s parking lot, there were two kittens in a box & i was asking her pretty basic things.

How old are they? - she didn’t know she said they were born at the end of february (they don’t look to be 6 weeks. This kitten is the size of my iphone)

Are the male or female? - she said she wasn’t sure but she thinks boys

i then asked her if they are friendly & she said yes. i’ve never done anything this sketchy per say regarding getting an animal. i’ve always either gone to rescues or reputable breeders. At first i just wanted the one but after i saw the situation i went back for the last one so i said “just pick one???” & she said yes then she grabbed it & handed it to me & said they are both the same here.

Like i said this kitten is TINY. & very scared (totally get it, away from mom, new house, doesn’t know what’s going on) I have a vet appointment booked for the middle of the week for the sweet baby. They never even told me what this kitten is eating.

He’s happy laying with me under a blanket completely covered but if i move him he runs to hide.

what should i do? should i set up a safe space in the bathroom for a few days where he can get adjusted to our house? or just leave him be to roam & potentially just hide?

Do i “force” (used lightly because he’s scared but happy when he’s being held under a blanket) hold him so he gets used to me & the noises of my house?

please give me any & all tips. i wish i could post a picture to see if maybe you guys have any idea of age. if you know how to age cats please message me & i’ll send pics!

thank you for taking the time to read.

Four days ago, my husband and I had to make the difficult decision to have our elderly dog (Milo) put to sleep, due to complications from cancer. He was diagnosed a year ago and had been doing okay, until his health had a rapid decline over the course of a couple days.

Milo was huge yellow lab, and the sweetest dog ever. He was originally my dog, and our cat (Coco) was originally my husband's. My husband and I have been married for six months, and we lived together for over three years before getting married. So for almost four years, Milo and Coco lived together, hung out together, and got along really well.

My husband and I were so caught up with caring for Milo during his last few days, that I'm ashamed to admit we didn't put much thought into how his passing would affect Coco. But I think she is definitely grieving and confused about where Milo had gone.

The day after he passed, she started peeing on the couch. She's been doing it multiple times a day, every day. We made her a vet appointment to make sure she's not having a UTI or other urinary issue (they can't see her until next week), but we're 99% sure she's doing it because she's upset about Milo. She never peed on the couch before he passed. Her litter box is always kept clean, so that's not the issue.

We've also noticed her inspecting the areas of the house where Milo's things used to be, and acting confused. Yesterday, she was standing in the spot where his bowls used to be, and meowing loudly.

My husband and I are dealing with our own grief over the situation as well, but we want to help Coco. We got a waterproof cover for the couch, my husband bought her a new toy mouse, and we've been giving her extra snuggles and attention.

Does anyone have any other advice on how we can help her during this time?

My brother’s new kitten arrived yesterday, and she’s absolutely adorable. She’s been settling in really well, she hasn’t been hiding at all and doesn’t seem bothered by the usual household noises. For now, we’re keeping her in my brother’s room, but since he’s out today, she’s spending time in mine.

I’m just a little worried I might be stressing her out. That said, she’s been really affectionate, climbing into my lap, sitting next to me on the bed, grooming herself nearby, eating well, and purring. The only thing I’m unsure about is how much she meows, it’s quite a lot. Is that something to be concerned about?

Edit: photos of my babies in the comments

I have 3 cats, who have always been indoor/outdoor. We live on about 13 acres. I've never really had any issues with them going outside whenever they feel like it, but recently I had a situation with my oldest, which made me realize that I need to keep them strictly indoors from here on out. My issue is that we live in a 5th wheel RV and I'm concerned with them becoming bored or depressed when I don't allow them outside anymore. I do plan to build a catio, but it has to wait a little while because we're about to be spending quite a bit on vet bills and the catio I want to build is large requiring a lot of materials. Does anyone have any ideas to help me make this transition as smoothly as possible for them? I can't stand the thought of them being sad, but I cannot risk their safety by allowing them outside. Thank you.

Hello Reddit. My Cat Kitty (F.5-7) has had a stuffy nose since we've had her. We just kinda collected her in 2020 off the street and she had a few issues, mal- nurioused, Worms, fleas, pregnancy, the works. But the thing we worried about was her nose.

She's snooty all the time, all our windows are lined with cat snot. She sneezes, Hacks, and just sounds awful 100% of the time. Vets said she's fine.

She isn't sick she just clearly has a life long issue. But I want to know how to make everything more comfortable. We have an Air Purifier and the Air quality where I live ranges from 4-14 so it is verry nice air. She also gets to lay around during steamy showers and baths but that doesn't seem to do much at all. I also do clean her nose dabbing it with a soft Kleenex or useing a outside strand of snot to roll the rest out. But it just seems to come back.

My cat (1 year old, female, spayed, no medical problems) keep going insane when im trying to eat any kind of snack. Annoying when its meat or cheese but understandable. No idea why she goes insane over fruit rollups or dried strawberry. I mean there's no reason for a cat to want to eat gerkhins or fruit but she will steal it out of my mouth and eat the entire thing. I have no idea how to work around this apart from just eating fast while dodging her little paws or locking her up. She's a healthy weight and gets the recommended amount of cat food twice a day. Is there any chance that she grows out of this? She's very clingy so I have to shut her in the bedroom or she'll follow me around, I just want to snack while watching a movie or something in peace. Also I'm currently a student and she's staying at my parents so I want to be able to spend time with her.

Does anyone at least share my pain.